The Essay
by tillerian
Summary: The good version!  A Friendship is Magic fic. Twilight must write an essay about a past expirience. So, she decides to lie about one. But her friends get suspicious and the whole town is on to her! Can she keep this secret before everyone finds out?


The Essay

By an anonymous person named Tillerian

It was a nice spring morning in Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was at home studying her books downstairs. She was up pretty early, so none of the other ponies were outside doing anything. Since she had nothing to do this morning, she spent her time reading.

She couldn't help but feel a little bored. Usually when she was bored, she would start thinking of Princess Celestia. She hoped that the princess would send her an assignment, but none had come recently. It has been weeks since Princess Celestia last communicated with her. Spike, her 'Number One Assistant', was sleeping-in upstairs after working so hard the day before. Twilight decided let him sleep in for a while extra before waking him up, so she could continue her studies.

Upstairs, Spike sat up straight in bed, half-asleep, and belched out a letter from the princess. Spike grabbed the letter in the air and got up. He wasn't too happy that his sleep was rudely interrupted, but he knew he had to deliver it; it was royal mail after all.

He took it downstairs to show Twilight, "For you" said Spike handing the letter to the busy-looking purple unicorn, tiredly.

"Finally" said Twilight swiping the letter from Spike's hand with her magic. She was so excited to read what the Princess wanted from her. She had been waiting patiently for an assignment! Now, that she finally had something to do! She began reading it without hesitation.

"My dearest student" she read aloud, "You're progress in Ponyville is outstanding! I'm proud to have sent you down there. While you have learned so much about gaining friends, it's time for you to learn about losses. It's a simple matter and I want to make sure you are aware of it. I want you to write an essay about your encounter with death and how it changed your life. Yours truly, Princess Celestia"

Twilight finished reading. She looked dumbfounded at this odd assignment.

"Death? Why would I write about death?" Twilight asked herself.

"Well, maybe she has something in mind" said Spike with a shrug.

Twilight thought about it some more and realized what it is that Celestia was asking for.

"Death is a tragic, yet common occurrence," she said informatively, "Life is temporary. We just have to accept that. Maybe the princess wants me to understand that"

"Then, go ahead and write about it" said Spike confident in Twilight's abilities, "An essay should be a no-brainer for you!"

"Fine. I'll just have to think about it…" said Twilight.

Twilight started thinking about the essay. Suddenly, Spike tensed up, belched out another letter, and handed it to Twilight. She began reading it immediately in curiosity.

"I almost forgot" she read, "It's due… AT MIDNIGHT?"

"Why's it always midnight?" said Spike scratching his head.

"I have to get working now!" said Twilight zooming past Spike. She rushed to her desk and lifted the pen! She knew she had to start working immediately!

"I'm gonna go outside and leave you alone" said Spike backing to the door. Spike went out the door to let Twilight concentrate on her work. Twilight looked around the house. It was eerily quiet. She could hear the wind blow against the window. Twilight looked at the blank piece of paper, tapping her quill on the desk. She bit her lip as she nervously looked at the blank piece of paper. She could not think of anything to write down.

"It's okay, Twilight. You can do this!" she said assuring herself, "An essay about death! Maybe if I just start writing, I can get a flow going" She got a piece of paper and started writing "A Touch of Death, by Twilight Sparkle"

* * *

><p>Hours went by. Twilight sat at her desk working on her essay. She couldn't tell what time it was as how long she had been sitting at the desk. She started to hear all the ponies outside talking and playing. Twilight tried to drown them out by focusing on the paper; however, it was very difficult to do so. Every now and again, she would get frustrated and open a book. She read a few pages for some inspiration. She mostly read poems written by Edgar Allen Poeny, but they were so depressing and she felt even more nervous about writing down the essay.<p>

As the sun started to set and all the ponies started to turn in for the night, Twilight Sparkle was still working on the essay. She was staring at the paper in fatigue. Spike came in the room and yawned. He felt very refreshed and happy. He walked over to Twilight with a shining smile on his face.

"Man, that was the best day ever! I can't believe you missed it!" he said stretching his arms in the air.

Twilight looked over her shoulder and put on a fake smile. She looked incredibly worn out. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were baggy, and she looked like she was completely out of focus.

"Good for you…" she said partially irritated.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" said Spike walking to her. Twilight just stared at him blankly. He knew that was a dumb question. He felt a little sorry for his friend that he got to play all day while she sat there working on an essay.

"How's the essay comin' along?" he said hoping to change the subject.

"Oh… it's comin'…" said Twilight with a nervous smile, "I'm doing a good job. I'll be done in no time!"

"Can I see what you've written so far?" said Spike extending an arm out.

"NO!" Twilight covered the paper with her hooves. She looked as if she was embarrassed by what she wrote. "You can't read it!" She continued, "I-it's… um… unfinished! I can't show it to everyone! I have to proof-read it!"

"Well, maybe I can proof-read it for you!" said Spike. He reached up to grab the paper, but Twilight, snatched it away from the last minute! She buried it in her hooves and turned her back to Spike.

"You can't, Spike! Not until I'm done!" the embarrassed unicorn said rearing her head to look at Spike. She had quite a nervous look about her.

"Twilight! You're acting like a little pony! You know you're way more mature than this! Show me the paper" said Spike crossing his arms in annoyance.

Twilight looked at Spike, he had stern look on his face. Twilight looked at him as if she were begging him to ignore the essay. Spike saw this, and felt a little guilty about coming on too strong. Yet, he was also very embarrassed. Here was the smartest pony that he knew that he had been working with for years. Not to mention the same pony that practically hatched him from his egg! It was kind of humiliating to see her act this way. He always looked to her like a big sister; now, he felt it was his turn to be a brother to her.

"Twilight", he said hoping to calm her down, "I'm your assistant. It's my job to help you out as much as possible. I want to help you. Now, please, show me the paper. You want it to look good for the princess, right? Well, let me proof-read it. We can work on this together!"

Twilight looked at her longtime assistant with a look of guilt. How could she act so childish about it? She caved in and handed Spike the paper. She then placed her face on the desk and covered her head with her hoofs in shame. Spike looked down at the paper that Twilight was so stubborn to show him.

Spike thrust the paper before him, took a look at her paper, and started reading aloud "A Touch of Death, by Twilight Sparkle…"

He stared into the blank page that was underneath those words. He then looked up at Twilight, whose head was still shamefully buried in her hooves moaning embarrassment.

"I haven't even started yet…" Twilight moaned from underneath.

"You're having a writer's block?" said Spike knowingly.

Twilight raised her head and looked at Spike with a shameful, yet defensive, expression and said "It's only for a little bit!"

Spike stared at her in disbelief! He couldn't believe that Twilight Sparkle, a renowned bookworm, was having writers block, for an entire day! He saw by the look of her face that she had no idea how long she's been sitting at her desk. Twilight looked at her assistant's face as if she could read what he was thinking. She was too scared to ask the question, but it was something that she had to know.

"Spike?" she said nervously, "What time is it?"

"It's almost night time" said Spike pointing to a clock. Twilight looked at the clock for the first time and was shocked at the sight of it!

"WHAT? I've been sitting here for that long? I gotta work fast!" Twilight said using her magic to snatch the paper from Spike's hands. She pounded the paper on the desk and got her quill!

"Well, I don't know what to say, Twilight" Spike said with a shrug.

Twilight threw down the quill with her magic and rushed in front of Spike and said in a panic "Spike! You've gotta help me! You said you would!"

"How?" said Spike scratching his head.

"Have you had anyone die in your family before? Or about death? Anything!" Twilight said as if she was just about to pull her mane off her head.

Spike knew he had to calm her down or she'll never get anything done. He tried to reason with her. But he had to tell her the truth.

"The truth is, Twilight, you're my only family" said Spike shrugging "You hatched me from my egg, remember? I don't even know who my parents are!"

Twilight didn't know whether to feel flattered or disappointed. She also felt very ashamed about the way she was acting around him. She looked to the floor with a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry, Spike", Twilight said apologetically, "it's just that I've been so frustrated with this thing. The thing is, I can't think of anything right now. I guess the best way for you to help me is to just leave me alone. I need to clear my head…"

Twilight didn't want to shove her assistant aside like that. She felt like she hurt Spike. But, Spike looked up at her and smiled as if to show her that he understood. Twilight smiled back at him, reassured that she did the right thing. Spike ascended up the stairs but stopped.

"Don't worry, you'll think of something! You're the smartest pony I know" he said with a smile.

Although reassured that she had her friend's support, it still didn't give her any idea of what to write about. She walked to her desk and stared at the paper for two hours. The entire room got dark, so she lit a candle to see the paper. She looked at the clock: 10:23. She groaned in frustration placing both hooves against her face.

"Stupid essay!" Twilight said banging on the desk, "Why do I have to do this? I need to come up with something right now! I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" said a voice that appeared from behind her.

"Who said that?" said Twilight.

She looked around the room. Nothing was around except the books that surrounded her. The candle flickered behind her. Then, in the furthest darkest corner came a pony. She couldn't tell what the pony looked like; it was too dark to even make out an image. However, she did see a horn poke out of the forehead. Because of that, she could tell immediately that it was a unicorn.

"Rarity? Is that you?" said Twilight.

"Of course not!" said the voice. It sounded like it belonged to a girl, but it didn't sound anything like Rarity's. It did however, sound eerily familiar, but she couldn't recognize it. It was soft with a slight accent; it was also very haughty as if the pony came from a higher class.

"Do I even know you?" Twilight said suspiciously.

"Maybe, maybe not, Twilight" The pony laughed.

"Wait! You know my name? Who are you?" said Twilight stepping forth to the pony.

"My name is not important" said the pony shaking her head in denial.

Twilight was very suspicious about this mysterious pony. She crept in to get a closer look.

"Stop!" said the pony raising a hoof in front of her as she crept back into the darkness "You want help with that essay, do you not?"

"Wha- why?" Twilight said in irritation, "you broke into my house! I don't even know you!" then, her voice changed to a curious tone, "yet… you sound so familiar…"

"Listen! Who I am is not important right now. I know you're in trouble" said the pony coming back from the darkness a little.

"Trouble?"

"The essay! I can help you with the essay!" The pony said waving her hoof in front of her.

"How?" Twilight said with a look of skepticism.

There was a silence. For a few moments the ponies stared at each other.

"Ugh! Are you really that dumb? I thought you were smart, Twilight" said the pony who seemed to have rolled her eyes.

"I AM smart! I just, don't know what to do right now" Twilight said stomping her hoof on the ground. Twilight was frustrated with this pony. The pony said she was going help her. Why was she was so vague about her information? Twilight gave up and sat down at her desk continuing to stare at the paper trying to ignore the pony.

"You have faced death before, Twilight" The pony said in an eerie tone, "You just don't want to write about it"

Twilight turned around with a skeptical, yet fascinated look on her face.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight said in wonder.

"THINK! Remember! Last fall! The funeral!" said the pony trying to get her to remember.

Twilight tried to think about what she did last fall, then, suddenly, it hit her!

"My great-grandparents died last fall" said Twilight in realization.

"Yes!" The pony's head nodded up and down.

"So? That wasn't really a life changing event. It was really long and boring" Twilight said with a shrug.

"I'm sure it was" said the pony lowering her head, and then raising it back up again and raising a hoof, "BUT, you don't have let the princess know that, right?"

"What do you mean?" said Twilight with an interested tone.

The pony looked down and grumbled to herself, shaking her head, and then finally looked up.

"Do I have to hold your hoof?" she said in annoyance, "I'm saying that you can say that it _was_ life changing"

"You mean lie about it?" said Twilight in shock.

"Well, no, not really" said the pony assuringly "It's just… fudging it up a little"

"It's lying!" Twilight said angrily.

The pony turned around angrily and said "Fine! Call it what you want, Twilight. But, the clock is ticking, and that paper is still blank"

Twilight looked at her paper and looked at the clock nervously. She was right, there wasn't any time.

Twilight finally caved in and said, "Alright, I guess I have no other choice"

She looked at the pony and could have sworn that she saw a smile creak across her face. But it was so dark, she couldn't see for sure. Twilight felt very unsure about this, as if something sinister was in the works.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Twilight" said the pony "Tick… tock… tick… tock" she continued to tick and tock tilting her head left and right rhythmically.

Twilight looked at her paper and lifted the quill. She gently pressed it against the paper and began writing. As soon as Twilight did that, the pony stopped. It was dead quiet in the room. All she could hear was the scratching against the paper. At first she was nervous about the paper, but then, she got used to it and got a flow going. She started to speed up towards the middle. She was finished within thirty minutes. She placed the quill in the ink and looked at the paper and smiled proudly. She was somewhat satisfied with it. So much so that, assuming the pony was still there, she read it out loud:

"A Touch of Death, by Twilight Sparkle. It was early fall as I was spending time with my friends. I remember talking Fluttershy about the current status of the town, when I gained a letter from the princess. A letter from the princess was something usual for me as I constantly write reports to her, but this one wasn't a request, it was news, and it was not good news.

"She informed me that my great-grandparents had passed away. My great-grandfather had a stroke a few years before and my great-grandmother had a brain tumor shortly after. They were both sent to a retirement home. We all knew that they were going to leave us at any moment. Despite this fact, I was still shocked and distressed at their loss.

"The next day, I left Ponyville to attend their funeral. They lived quite far away on the other side of Equestria, so it was quite a long journey, but I knew it would be worth it to say goodbye to my beloved great-grandparents.

"Upon arriving there, I met many of my fellow relatives that came to mourn for them. They all decided that I would be the one who would deliver the eulogy. I felt very honored to read it. So, the night before the funeral I wrote down the eulogy and finished it.

"The funeral was very sad. I could not keep my mind off the fact that they were actually gone. The tears were welling up in my eyes as I felt depressed of their leaving this world eternally. But, I had to fight it for just a little while, for I knew that I had to deliver the eulogy. As I finally got to the stand, I read the eulogy to everypony. The pain that I felt delivering it, was overwhelming, but, I stayed strong and read it.

"After I finished my eulogy, I took my seat and the funeral continued. After everypony said their final goodbyes, we buried them, where they will rest eternally. After the funeral I stayed for a while to get in touch with some relatives before going back to Ponyville. They were all affected by their loss, but, they felt somewhat at peace, that their lost loved ones are finally resting peacefully. I, too, felt at peace.

"On my trip back to Ponyville, I saw death in a new light. While it is, in fact, very tragic, we must also realize that it's also filled with hope. No one knows for certain what happens to the soul. Yet, since my great-grandparents deaths, I felt them, watching over me. And I know, someday, I will join them, and watch over the legacy I leave behind. Death is the end of life, but part of life is making something to leave behind after death. And that's why I feel so peaceful about it. That is my view on death"

"Well?" said Twilight with pride.

"Whoa! Good work, Twilight! I knew you could do it!" said a different voice from behind.

She looked down and saw it was Spike! She just about jumped twelve feet in the air she was so shocked! She looked at the dragon nervously. He stood there grinning happily.

"Did I scare you?" said Spike with slight embarrassment.

"Uhm… yes!" said Twilight nodding up and down nervously, "You did! What are you doing up?"

"I heard some voices downstairs and came to check up on you" said Spike "Did you have a visitor?" he looked around the room.

Twilight looked at the corner and saw that the pony was gone. She left so quietly, that Twilight probably didn't even notice.

"She's gone…" said Twilight curiously putting her hoof to her mouth.

"Who's gone?" said Spike looking at Twilight in confusion.

"Er… nobody!" Twilight said with a nervous smile "I was just… er… reading a book! A very… scary… book… I got so caught up in it, that I read it out loud. Sorry, for waking you up"

"Aw… it's no big deal" Spike said waving his hand in assurance, "At least you got your essay done"

Twilight looked at the ceiling wondering what to say. Should she tell him that she made it up? She didn't know what to do. She looked at Spike and said, "Um… Spike? You want to proof-read it for me?"

"No way! This essay is perfect!" said Spike swiping the paper from the desk and looking at it.

"But, Spike, I-"

"No, no!" Spike interrupted putting a finger against her mouth "You don't have a lot of time, right now" he removed his finger and continued "I'm going to send this to the princess and you can get plenty of sleep. She'll love it!"

Spike let in a deep breath and engulfed the essay in a green flame. Twilight stared blankly at the letter as it flew out the window. As soon as it was out of site, she gulped.

"I-it's done. I did it" Twilight said nervously.

"What are you worried about?" said Spike looking at Twilight in confusion.

"Oh! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Twilight said looking at Spike hoping that he's assured that nothing is going on.

Spike put his hands on her shoulders and said "Relax! It's okay! You did great, Twilight! The princess is pleased that you brought her an essay! Now, I'm going to bed. You should come too. You've had a busy day. You deserve a break"

Twilight watched Spike as he went up to bed. She felt a little calm now that it was all over. Twilight smiled as if she was a little more proud of her accomplishment.

"I guess that's it" said Twilight with a new feeling of confidence, "I guess I should've done something like that earlier. Now that it's done, I don't ever have to lie again and I can forget about the essay"

* * *

><p>Twilight eventually went upstairs to bed. She practically forgot about the pony that mysteriously appeared to her and told her to lie about the essay. She was no longer interested in her identity. Maybe, she really did want to help her, maybe she did want to get the essay done, even though it was probably wrong for her to lie. The ends probably did justify the means. She went to sleep and had a pleasant dream.<p>

* * *

><p>The next morning Twilight woke up and yawned. She looked outside and smiled. The sun shone brightly in the sky on a cloudless day. Its warmth was felt all over her face. The birds were chirping happily and the butterflies flew all across Ponyville. The spring breeze blew to cool her face from the sun. The smell of flowers came to her and she breathed it in deeply. The very sight of it sent a feeling of joy through her body!<p>

"Today's going to be a great day!" said Twilight with a beaming, confident smile!

Twilight happily galloped down the stairs. She couldn't wait to greet her friends on this beautiful day! She galloped without a care in the world.

"I wonder what I'm going to do first?" said Twilight opening the door.

As soon as she swung open the door she was greeted with a very loud "SURPRISE!"

"What?" Twilight said in astonishment!

Twilight looked around. She saw big decorations up and balloons all over the place. All the ponies were looking at her with big smiles. Although curious, Twilight didn't suspect anything except that there was a party going on here.

"Oh, wow! Pinkie Pie must be having another one of her random parties" she said to herself laughingly.

Just then, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash appeared before her. Applejack wore an apron around her, it was apparent that she was working an apple stand somewhere nearby. Rainbow was flying in the air looking down at Twilight. Fluttershy was on the ground crouching down; she was never really comfortable around a huge crowd. Rarity once again, boasted the prettiest dress. It was a nice red dress that she probably made herself. Pinkie Pie was munching on cotton candy, she was bouncing up and down at the delight of seeing Twilight.

"Hey, Twilight!" said Applejack happily greeting Twilight.

"Oh, hey, guys! What's the party for?" Twilight said happily.

"Why it's for you, of course!" said Rarity with a smile.

"Me? What'd I do?" said Twilight in curiosity.

"It's your cheering up party!" said Pinkie bouncing repeatedly up and down.

"My… cheering up party?" said Twilight. She did not like where this was going.

"Yeah! We all heard the essay that you wrote last night!" Rainbow said zooming up in front of her.

Suddenly, Twilight froze upon hearing those words. It was as if every single alarm in her brain were ringing all at once! She stared at her friends with a look of fright! She knew that this day might not be so great after all.

"You… heard that?" said Twilight in shock.

"Why of course we did, Sugah" said Applejack with a smile.

"It was very touching…" Fluttershy said quietly "It was also very sad"

"So, Pinkie made this party to cheer you up" said Rainbow showing Twilight the party.

"Wait! What were you all doing outside my house last night?" said Twilight wondering how in the world they found out.

"We were stalkin' you!" Applejack said with a grin.

"Stalking me?" Twilight said in shock.

"I'm just kidding!" said Applejack, then lowered her voice to a more serious and toned down one, "'Cept fer Derpy…"

Suddenly, Twilight saw Derpy from behind the other girls. Derpy was staring at her with her cross eyes as if peering into Twilight's own soul! Twilight felt an uncomfortable chill run down her spine. Derpy then walked away.

Twilight then looked back at her friends. They all looked so happy to have thrown this party to cheer her up. This did not make Twilight feel very good. All the confidence that Twilight had over what she did last night, fell apart right before her eyes. She felt very weak in her legs. How could she tell everyone that the essay was a lie? Without saying anything, she silently retreated into her house and slammed the door behind her.

"She must be really flattered by our party!" Pinkie said completely oblivious to what just happened.

Twilight stood against the door. Her heart pounded against her chest. She knew that if she were to let the truth out, her friends would never forgive her; not after all they did to make this party for her. There was a knock on the door.

"Um… Twilight? You okay in their?" said the voice of Applejack from behind knocking on the door.

"Uh… yeah! I… have to do something, I'll be right out!" said Twilight. She quietly huddled down and quietly mumbled to herself "What do I do? I can't say anything. They'll kill me"

"Hey, Twilight!" said a voice from behind.

Twilight jumped to her feet at the sound of it! She looked up and it was Spike again. He was staring at her with a baffled look on his face.

"Oh, good morning, Spike" Twilight said in relief.

"Did you see that party out there? It's all for you!" Spike said excitedly!

"Yes! I did see that" said Twilight pretending to be excited about it.

"Well, why don't you go out there?" said Spike putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh… I can't" Twilight said nervously.

"Why not?" said Spike in confusion. Spike had a curious look on his face. He wondered why in the world Twilight didn't to celebrate a party made for her.

"B-because… I'm not ready! I look terrible!" said Twilight hoping to deceive Spike.

Spike got closed to Twilight and looked her up and down. Then he got back up.

"Ha! You look fine! Now come on!" Spike said as he grabbed her tail and dragged her out the door.

"No! Spike!" Twilight begged.

But, it was too late; the dragon had already dragged her a few feet away from the house before letting her go. She looked around nervously as everyone looked at her as if waiting for her to say something. Twilight then gathered her wits about her and put on a fake smile. It was then that the party continued. Twilight got up and brushed herself off. She thought about what to do about the lie.

"_Maybe I'll just lie about my great-grandparent. That'll help out_" She thought to herself "_Calm down, Twilight. You can do this. It's just a little lie_"

Just then, everybody started crowding around her and asking her questions such as "What were they like?" "Do you miss them" and "I wish I had a chicken". Twilight was getting worn out with all the questions. She was hoping that the day would end!

* * *

><p>Finally, the sun slowly sank behind the trees and was only an orange glowing orange disk in a black night sky.<p>

"Well, guys, it's getting late" said Twilight hoping to get away from the crowd, "I have to file a report to the princess, so, bye!" Twilight retreated back in her house and slammed the door behind her! Everyone stared at her door for a few minutes and finally left. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow stayed behind.

"Wasn't that the greatest party ever?" Pinkie said jumping up and down happily.

"She left in an awful hurry" said Applejack suspiciously.

"That was kind of odd" said Rarity scratching her head.

"She must be really tired!" Pinkie said assuringly.

"Pinkie's probably right" Applejack said in agreement, "We best go on home"

"Yeah!" said Pinkie nodding her head up and down in agreement.

"Um… guys, we should stay behind and clean up this mess" said Fluttershy pointing to the giant aftermath that was the party.

"Oh, you're right, Fluttershy" Rarity said in agreement.

* * *

><p>All the other ponies went home while Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy stayed behind and started cleaning up. It was a pretty large mess, so it took quite a while.<p>

"Psst!" said a quiet voice from out of nowhere.

"Who said that?" said Rarity looking around.

"I don't know" said Rainbow shrugging.

"PSST! Over here!" said a voice a little louder this time.

They followed the voice and saw a pony. They couldn't see who it was because it was too dark; yet, there was something vaguely familiar with this pony. Everybody could tell it was a unicorn pony by the sight of the horn on her forehead.

"Who're you?" Applejack said in curiosity.

"Me? My name is not important" said the pony shaking her head.

"Yes it is!" said Rainbow seriously.

"My name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours?" Pinkie exclaimed excited about meeting a potential new friend.

"I already know your name, Pinkie" said the pony.

"That's because I just told you, silly!" said Pinkie with a smile.

"Look, whatever you want, could you make it quick? We kind of got a mess to clean up here" said Applejack motioning towards the mess.

"This will only take a moment!" said the pony raising one hoof in assurance.

They all stared at the mysterious pony waiting to listen to what she has to say.

"I have proof that Twilight was lying about the essay" said the pony.

"What? How dare you accuse our friend of lying!" Rarity said angrily.

"Yeah! Twilight would never lie to us… would she?" Applejack said in partial denial.

"Listen to me! All of you!" said the pony in a domineering voice, "I know Twilight is lying! And if you just listen to me. I can prove it to you!"

"Forget it! We're not gonna listen to you! If Twilight was gonna tell us the truth, she'd tell us!" said Rainbow angrily.

"Fine! Have it your way!" said the pony in an irritated tone, "But remember, the truth is never always what it seems"

The pony then vanished without a trace!

"The nerve of some ponies" Rarity said in disgust, "I think she's jealous of all the attention that Twilight has gotten"

"Well, I'm going to prove to everyone that Twilight is innocent!" said Pinkie Pie in fierce determination, "Who's with me?"

"Sorry, Sugahcube, I don't want to get too deep into this" Applejack said apologetically "Besides, I have to work on the farm"

Applejack left.

"Okay, how about you, Rarity?" said Pinkie looking Rarity's direction.

"Oh! I can't, Pinkie, I'm way too busy!" said Rarity in high esteem, "I've got so many dress orders at the shop"

Rarity left.

"Rainbow?" said Pinkie hoping that Rainbow would agree to help.

"Do it yourself, Pinkie. Later!" Rainbow said irritatingly as she flew off.

Pinkie was disappointed by the fact that none of her friends will help her prove Twilight's innocence. She sat down and put her hooves on her cheeks and looked down at the grass.

"I don't believe this!" she said in disappointment.

"I know" Fluttershy said quietly with a piece of confetti in her hoof, "No one wants to clean up…"

Pinkie yanked up and grabbed Fluttershy in excitement!

"Fluttershy! You'll help me, right?" said Pinkie with a look of hope in her face.

"Oh, no… I can't…" said Fluttershy slowly shaking her head, "I have to clean up… this mess here… besides, we don't need to prove Twilight's innocent, do we?"

"Come on, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie shaking Fluttershy uncontrollably in a fit "You're all I have left! You gotta help me!"

Pinkie stopped shaking Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked around dizzily.

"I can't… I… I don't know… it might not be right…" Fluttershy said.

Pinkie looked into Fluttershy's eyes with a very desperate look on her face. She had the look as if she was begging Fluttershy to go. Fluttershy tried not to look at her, but, she couldn't help it.

"Pleeeeeeeaaaaase?" Pinkie begged.

The expression on Pinkies face was too much for Fluttershy. How could the shy pegasus go against her kind nature as to deny a friend in need, even if it was Pinkie Pie?

"Well… okay" said Fluttershy "I suppose I could… um… maybe…"

"YAAAAAY!" Pinkie happily shouted bouncing up and down like a schoolgirl! She was acting like her normal excited self! "Okay! Meet me at my house tomorrow!" Pinkie bounced away happily.

Fluttershy looked all around. She was all alone. "I suppose I'll clean this mess up by myself, then…" she said slightly irritated. She started to get to work cleaning up the mess from the party.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Twilight's house, Twilight laid in her bed staring at the ceiling quivering in fear. She couldn't get the fact that she lied of her head!<p>

"What do I do? I can't believe I lied to them… To my own friends!" said Twilight to herself in fear, "Why did I do it! Why did I lie about the essay?"

Then she stopped to calm down. She took a few deep breaths and relaxed.

"As long as I keep this to myself, I'll be okay. It'll all blow over soon" said Twilight reassuring herself confidently.

She looked around the room and immediately saw Spike standing there! He stood there with his jaw wide open staring at her in shock! Twilight stared back at him in horror! Was he listening to her this whole time? She then tried to fake a smile.

"Umm… Spike… you didn't just hear all that, did you?" she said hoping he was just in a trance.

"You lied…" said Spike still shocked over what he heard.

"Just a little…" said Twilight nervously.

"You lied about the essay?" said Spike still frozen solid.

"Look, I didn't want to, Spike! But I had no choice!" said Twilight dashing out of her bed towards Spike, "What was I gonna do? Go out there and say 'hey, everypony! Nice party! By the way, the essay that I wrote is a fake; so I lied to the princess. What could I do?"

"Twilight! It's not right! Besides, it's so unlike you!" said Spike finally getting unfrozen and crossing his arms with a serious look.

He began to walk to his bed. Twilight, unsure about Spike keeping a secret, grabbed a hold of his leg in desperation!

"Please, don't tell anyone, Spike!" she begged, "You have no idea what will happen to me if the truth gets out! Lying to the princess is a serious crime! I could go to jail! Or worse…"

"Worse?" he said in curiosity. Twilight motioned her hoof across her neck. "I don't know, Twilight" he continued, "You kind of threw your friends under the bus by keeping it to yourself. You can at least tell them, they'll understand" He tried to pull free from Twilight's surprisingly strong grip.

"I'm way too deep into this, Spike, I can't even tell them!" said Twilight squeezing harder, "Just promise me you won't tell anybody!"

Spike stared at her. This wasn't like the last time; now it was really dangerous! Twilight was always afraid of getting on the princess's bad side. He was scared for her now, because nobody knew what it was really like to get the Princess Celestia upset, except her sister Luna; and she was banished to the moon for a thousand years! But, Spike's morality got the better of him, so, he knew he had to get Twilight to do the right thing.

"Twilight, I won't tell anyone" said Spike assuring his friend.

"Thank you, Spike!" said Twilight in relief.

"That's your job!" Spike continued sternly.

Twilight remained silent with a sad look on her face. She knew what he was talking about. She let go of Spike and stood up and sadly started walking back to her bed. Spike felt bad for her. He hated being the more mature one of the two. But, he wanted his friend to do the right thing.

"Hey, Twilight, don't think you can keep quiet about this" said Spike waving his finger at her in a warning tone "It's already starting to drive you crazy, and it'll only get worse! I'm just sayin'!"

Twilight watched as Spike crawled into his bed to fall asleep. She thought about what Spike said as she crawled into her own bed. She was a little embarrassed. She quietly wished that Princess Celestia never sent her that essay. Twilight stared at the ceiling and finally fell asleep.

She had a dreadful dream…

* * *

><p><em>Twilight Sparkle stood on stage in front of everyone. They all gathered around to hear what she had to say. Her friends Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow stood in front. She looked around. All the ponies were there. She gulped.<em>

"_I have a confession to make, everypony" said Twilight Sparkle nervously "I lied about the essay!"_

_Everyone gasped and a look of shock befell the crow!. All the ponies were muttering to each other in disbelief! Worst of all were Twilight's five closest friends who stood right in front of her; the shock on their faces was too unbearable for them._

"_Yes! It's true! I didn't mean to! It was all I had! All I had!" Twilight continued, trying to calm the roused up crowd._

_Everyone booed at her and furiously threw fruit at her, yelling and hissing! Even her closest friends were furious at her! They threw the worst fruit of them all: Pears!_

"_How could you lie to us?" said Applejack angrily!_

"_I should have known not to trust you!" said Rarity in fury!_

"_Friends don't lie to each other!" said Rainbow!_

"_Get out of here!" Fluttershy shouted surprisingly loud!_

"_You're such a mean person! I hate you!" said Pinkie in a furious rage!_

_They all continuously threw fruit at her! Twilight cowered in the back trying to defend herself from all the fruit flying at her. She tried frantically to reason with them!_

"_I'm sorry, guys! I didn't want to lie! I'm really sorry!" said Twilight hoping to quell the rage of all the fruit throwing ponies._

_Two police ponies got on stage. They grabbed her front hoofs and put hoof cuffs on them! _

"_Yeah, tell it to the judge, liar!" said one police pony wrathfully. They walked to the police car where they shoved her in the back._

_Twilight tried to shove her head out the door and begged "Please! Don't do this! I need a clean record!"_

_The police pony shoved her head inside and slammed the door. _

"_Be sure that this word reaches Princess Celestia. She'll want to hear about this" said the police pony to the other._

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight screamed in panic._

* * *

><p>"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Twilight suddenly woke up in a fit. She almost fell out of the bed. She looked around and was relieved to find out it was a dream.<p>

Twilight looked out her window and saw Derpy staring at her. Derpy continuously stared at her without even blinking. They stared at each other for five minutes. Then, Derpy slowly lowered down quietly. Twilight looked at the wall in confusion and lied down to go back to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next morning, was a cloudless, hot, sunny day, similar to the day before. Fluttershy was still cleaning up the mess. She got the last few pieces of confetti and threw them away.<p>

She yawned and said to herself tiredly "That's the last of it… I guess I'll go home and… sleep…" She couldn't even get off the ground she was so tired, so, she lied down and fell asleep where she was. About five seconds later, Pinkie Pie came bouncing along.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOOOORNIIIIIIIIIIING!" Pinkie yelled at the top of her lungs in excitement!

Fluttershy flipped over on her back she was so shocked! She took a few deep breaths and saw Pinkie.

"Oh… Pinkie… hello there…" she said recovering from the shock.

"I've been looking all over for you! We need to get to work!" said Pinkie in a serious voice.

"Work?" Fluttershy said in confusion, "But, I-"

Pinkie grabbed Fluttershy's tail and dragged her to her house in a hurry. Pinkie dashed up the stairs with Fluttershy painfully bouncing up the stairs behind. Finally, Pinkie let Fluttershy go in the bed room. Fluttershy rubbed her rear in pain. It was really sore from being dragged around. Pinkie dug into her closet and started tossing her clothes all around.

"Um… Pinkie… what do you need me here for?" said Fluttershy still rubbing her flank.

"We're gonna solve this mystery!" said Pinkie peeping out from the closet with excitement "Somepony has to find out if Twilight is lying or not!" She continued to dig through her closet.

"Well, I think Twilight is innocent…" said Fluttershy shuffling her hooves on the floor, "Why would she lie to us?"

"Exactly! So many questions! Why would she lie to us? Why could she lie to us? Why should she lie to us?" said Pinkie continuing to dig in her closet "So, many questions, so little time!" She stopped digging and gasped, "What if Equestria is in danger? Maybe she's lying to cover up a conspiracy!"

"Now, that's silly, Pinkie…" said Fluttershy waving off that assumption, "I know Twilight would never cover up anything… she's honest…"

"Yes! But how honest?" Pinkie said skeptically.

"Well… I doubt the answer is in your closet…" said Fluttershy pointing her hoof at her.

"Oh, yes it is!" said Pinkie said assuringly "Aha! Perfect!"

Pinkie trotted out with two boxes. She tossed one at Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried to catch it, but it went over her head and she fell over. Fluttershy picked up the box and looked at it.

"What is in the box?" said Fluttershy curious about it and analyzing it.

"Our super detective uniforms!" Pinkie said with glee.

"Uniforms? Why do we need uniforms?" said Fluttershy tilting her head in confusion.

"Becaaaaaaaaaause, no one will take us seriously without them!" said Pinkie trying to explain to Fluttershy, "Without them, we are but ordinary ponies wandering the streets and eating cupcakes!" She drooled for a moment at the thought of cupcakes, but then she returned to reality "But with these uniforms, we become the best ever super duper detectives" She struck a heroic pose "No crime unsolved, no table unturned, no cow unmilked! We will find the culprit! We are… the Hardy Ponies!"

"The… Hardy Ponies?" Fluttershy said curiously.

* * *

><p>The Hardy Ponies: two ponies who have dedicated their lives to solve mysterious too great for the commoner. As they wander Equestria in search of mysteries, they will stop at nothing until all mysteries are thoroughly solved! In this case, the very reputation of their best friend, Twilight Sparkle, is on the line, for many ponies suspect that the essay that she wrote to the princess was a fraud! Join the Hardy Ponies in one of their toughest mystery yet: The Mystery of the Fraud Essay!<p>

* * *

><p>Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were walking in the park. Pinkie was wearing a green collared shirt with a blue sweater over it. Fluttershy was wearing the same thing, only with a red sweater. Fluttershy was sweating hard due to the unbearable heat.<p>

"Pinkie, is it really necessary that we have to wear these sweaters in this weather?" said Fluttershy tugging at her sweater.

"We went over this, Fluttershy" said Pinkie slightly annoyed that she had to explain again.

"But… I look silly…" said Fluttershy quietly "I can't go on like this…"

"You have to, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie twirling around to face Fluttershy in irritation "It's our uniforms!"

"Yes… you've already established that…" said Fluttershy "But… isn't the weather a little warm for them?"

"I feel fine" said Pinkie immediately changing her attitude to a happy one.

"Well… alright… I suppose I could agree…" said Fluttershy whisperingly.

"That's the spirit, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie happy to have Fluttershy agree with her. They continued walking.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle walked over to the apple farm to talk to Applejack. She was hoping that Applejack would give her helpful advice without finding out the truth. Twilight was a little nervous. She had no idea how Applejack would react, but she needed someone's opinion, and she felt that Applejack was the best one to turn to. She met Applejack in the orchard. Applejack was bashing on apple trees with her hind legs and making the apples fall into the baskets below. Twilight gulped and approached Applejack.<p>

"Hi, Applejack" said Twilight as she approached her friend.

Applejack gave the tree one more kick and said "Hey, there Twilight. What can I do for you?"

"Umm… can I ask your opinion on something?" Twilight said nervously.

"Sure, sugahcube, you can ask me anything" Applejack said confidently.

"Umm… well, you see, there is a… friend of mine who is working for the princess…" Twilight said rubbing the back of her neck.

"Go on…" said Applejack resting her forelegs on an apple basket interested in her friend's story.

"Well… he had an assignment… I forgot what… and he did it" Twilight continued "But… not in an honest way"

"What do you mean" said Applejack tilting her head in curiosity.

"He… may have… you know… made some things up about the assignment…" Twilight continued as she quickly thought up her lie.

"You mean he lied to the princess?" Applejack said raising her head in shock.

"No… er… kind of…" Twilight said nervously.

"Does the princess know about it?" Applejack said.

"Well… no… he's only told me about it. He doesn't know what to do. The truth is driving him crazy and he wants some advice" Twilight looked at Applejack, hoping she didn't suspect anything "Should he tell someone or keep it to himself?"

"Isn't lying to the princess a high crime or somethin'?" Applejack said resting her head on her hooves with further interest.

"Um… maybe… I'm not sure… I haven't heard of any cases" Twilight said informatively.

"Well, I think he should tell somebody before it gets worse" Applejack said raising her hoof in an informative manner, "You see lying is like a fish out of water. If someone doesn't do something about it, it'll start to stink real bad" She stopped and thought about it a little bit, "But… I don't know… if he tells the truth, he could get hanged or something"

Twilight bit her hoof nervously. To have her hanged? She knew she was in serious trouble! Applejack saw this and thought she was worried about her friend, so she brought an apple over to her. She placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry; the princess is a nice pony" Applejack said reassuring Twilight, "I'm sure she can be forgiving to him. Here, have an apple"

Twilight took the apple and smiled. She felt somewhat comforted that her friend Applejack was looking after her. If she did tell the truth, she felt that at least Applejack would understand. Twilight smiled reassured by her friend's words.

"Thank you, Applejack" said Twilight. She turned around to leave.

"Hey, Twilight!" Applejack called out "There's some rumor going around that you lied about your essay!"

Twilight froze dead in her tracks! Those were the words that she did not want to hear.

"Oh?" she nervously said without moving.

"Well, I just wanted you to know that I don't believe any of it!" said Applejack said sternly "But, if it's true… well… I s'pose the whole town'll turn against you" she continued with a frown, "I don't think I could help you there. They can get mighty crazy sometimes!"

Twilight slowly turned her around trying to fake a smile and said, "You don't say…"

"Not to mention you probably might get arrested" Applejack continued while scratching her chin. Then, she smiled and said, "But, don't worry, I don't think that's the case, so, you have nothin' to worry 'bout"

"Yeah… nothing… to worry about…" Twilight said nervously while slowly walking away.

Twilight knew that if the truth were to let out, the whole town would definitely go after her. But, the truth just kept eating at her internally. She faced quite a dilemma: If she told the whole town the truth, she would be in serious trouble. But, if she kept it to herself, she might lose her sanity! Twilight shook at the very thought about it. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest frantically! She recalled her dream. She had a feeling that it might come true.

* * *

><p><em>We began searching for clues immediately. Fluttershy and I went all throughout town asking questions. My best friend, Twilight, was accused of murder! … No wait…she was accused of lying! Yes! That is very different from murder! But nonetheless a bad thing! I asked Fluttershy and she definitely does not think Twilight lied. I asked myself and I don't think Twilight lied… though, sometimes, I can't even trust myself these days. So, it was decided that we'd pay Mr. Cake a visit. He runs the bakery. They serve things like cake, cupcake, candy, pie… I really love those! They're my favoritest food in the world! I think I'll ask for a chocolate cake… No! A chocolate cake with vanilla icing! No! A chocolate cake with vanilla icing, strawberries, and pudding! Yay pudding! Wait, what was I thinking about a while ago? Something about my friend… doing a thing… that people think… Oh, thinking is hard! I'm going to ask Fluttershy what I was thinking about.<em>

* * *

><p>Pinkie and Fluttershy were walking in town to the bakery. Pinkie had her head in the clouds with her mind really onto something. Suddenly, Pinkie spun around to face Fluttershy!<p>

"Fluttershy, what was I thinking about?" She asked.

"Uh… I don't know… I can't read minds…" said Fluttershy a little confused at Pinkie's question.

Pinkie paused and thought for a moment, then she smiled and said "Oh, yeah!"

"Pinkie, why are we going to the bakery?" said Fluttershy.

"To get a cake!" said Pinkie bouncing up and down.

Fluttershy stopped and said "Wait… I thought we were going to prove that Twilight didn't lie about her essay…"

Pinkie stopped to think and said "Oooooh! That's what I was thinking of!" she smiled and continued, "Sure, Fluttershy, we can ask Mr. Cake about it!"

Fluttershy sighed and said quietly to herself, "Sometimes I wonder how I get into these things…"

"Ooooo! Ooooo! There it is!" Pinkie said jumping up and down excitedly, "The bakery is over there!"

"Yes, Pinkie… the bakery has always been over there… we should go in… and ask about Twilight" said Fluttershy quietly.

"Yes! You're a genius, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie wrapping her hoof around the back of Fluttershy's neck, "We'll go in there and see what sinister plot they have in store! We'll see what they're really up to!"

"Um… I don't think Mr. Cake is thinking of doing anything bad to Twilight" said Fluttershy in denial. She slightly smiled and continued, "He's a very nice pony…"

"Oh! Mr. Cake's in there? Sweet! We can ask him about Twilight!" Pinkie said happily.

"I… oh… alright…" said Fluttershy very confused at Pinkie's statements.

"But, before we go, I have one thing to get!" Pinkie said reaching into her sweater. She pulled out a flashlight.

"Um… Pinkie… what do we need a flashlight for? It's sunny and much too bright for us to need it" said Fluttershy staring at the flashlight in confusion.

"Flashlight?" Pinkie shook her head, "This is the Super Duper Shiny Special Clue Finder Device! With this, we can find clues in places like grass, shelves, not-trees, and really really dark places. It's never failed me once"

Fluttershy stared at the flashlight (Because that's what it clearly was) for a few moments and said quietly "But… it's a flashlight…"

"No it's not!" Pinkie said angrily "It's my Super Duper Shiny Special Clue Finder Device, a-and it's really useful, and it'll help us find clues!"

Pinkie stared Fluttershy down. Fluttershy backed off nervously and said whisperingly "Well… alright… I suppose that's what it is, then… I guess…"

Pinkie grinned happily and said "I'm so glad you agree!" Pinkie waved the flashlight in front of her face and continued, "Now let's go talk to Mr. Cake. And maybe get that chocolate cake with vanilla icing and strawberries" Pinkie licked her lips with delight at the thought of it. Pinkie hopped away happily and Fluttershy followed behind.

* * *

><p>When they walked inside the bakery, they saw Mr. Cake behind the counter humming to himself. He was whipping the counter down to make it shine. He spotted Pinkie and Fluttershy walk in.<p>

"Hello, ladies, come on in!" he said with a friendly face "What can I do for you, today?"

"Um… hello, Mr. Cake… Pinkie and I were wondering… if we could… um…" Fluttershy mumbled her words shyly.

"We came to see if you think Twilight was lying about the essay she wrote last night!" Pinkie said happily.

"Twilight lie to us? Well, it is really strange…" Mr. Cake said thinking about it, "But, there was this pony who showed up to me last night. She told me that Twilight did lie to us about the essay!" his face turned serious, "Looked sketchy if you ask me…"

"Um… what did the pony look like?" said Fluttershy shyly.

"I don't know… it was too dark to see" he continued "But she did look like a unicorn…"

"Pinkie… didn't a unicorn tell us that Twilight was lying?" Fluttershy said astonishingly to Pinkie.

"Aha!" Pinkie said pounding her hoof with her other hoof, "A no good rumor spreader! Alright, we're gonna look around the shop to find some clues!" she got out the flashlight "Super Duper Whatever Thingy, don't fail me now!" She turned the flashlight on and shined it all around the room. Fluttershy simply looked around at all the sweats they had for sale. She then spotted a pink cupcake.

"Oh! That looks delicious…" she said with a smile.

"Good work, Fluttershy!" said Pinkie zooming up out of nowhere and snatching the cupcake from the shelf, "I knew this Device would come in handy" she shined the flashlight at the cupcake "This is a strawberry cupcake… or is it?" she took a closer look at it.

"Um… Pinkie… it's not…" said Fluttershy pointing at it nervously, "It's a chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing"

Pinkie stared at Fluttershy in confusion and said "How do you know that?"

"Because the label said so" Fluttershy said pointing to the label. It said "Chocolate cupcake with strawberry icing"

Suddenly, Pinkie looked at the cupcake in amazement!

"I think I get it now!" she said. She raised the cupcake like a trophy and continued, "Chocolate, at first is very bitter and nasty. Twilight was the same way before we met her. All she wanted to do was read books and stuff! But, now, with certain ingredients, this chocolate is now sweet and tasty! Just like Twilight who is now friendly and likes to be with her friends" she scooped up a tiny bit of the icing with the edge of her hoof, "But now… it's covered by a strawberry icing to make it look like, at first glance, a strawberry cupcake" she put the icing on her hoof in her mouth, tasted it and continued, "Maybe… juuuuuust maybe, Twilight is hiding something from us… or… someone's trying to make us _think_ Twilights a nasty, smell, rotten liar!" she lowered her voice silently, "Very interesting…"

Fluttershy stared at Pinkie and said "Huh?"

"What?" said Pinkie in confusion.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

They stared at each other for a few minutes in confusion. Then, Pinkie saw the cupcake in her hooves and said "Hey! A cupcake! I love cupcakes!"

"But what about that thing you said about Twilight and the cupcake?" said Fluttershy in confusion.

"Oh, Fluttershy" Pinkie said with a smile "Those are to completely different things!"

"Hey, are you going to buy that?" said Mr. Cake from behind the counter in an irritated tone.

"Sure! I'll buy it!" said Pinkie happily.

Pinkie purchased the cupcake and they left the store.

* * *

><p>Pinkie was happily munching on the cupcake as she trotted away from the bakery. Fluttershy followed closely behind.<p>

"So… what did we learn in there?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well" Pinkie said with her mouth full of cupcake, "We learned that… that strange pony is telling everypony in town that Twilight is lying about the essay… and… this cupcake is delicious!"

"But… who is that pony?" said Fluttershy a little irritated with Pinkie's behavior, "I mean… who would want to tell terrible things like that about Twilight?"

"I don't know" said Pinkie swallowing the cupcake that was in her mouth, she started to think a little, "But, she must be someone who really hates Twilight!"

"Well… it's completely possible… but… I don't know…" said Fluttershy she started thinking with Pinkie, "Who in this town would hate Twilight enough to spread rumors about her… and… why does that pony hate her…"

"I know!" said Pinkie jumping up and down with an idea, "Let's ask Derpy! She knows about this stuff!"

"Derpy? Oh… no no no…" said Fluttershy shaking her head in fear, "I don't want to talk to her…"

"Huh? Why not?" said Pinkie looking at her in confusion.

"Well… um…" Fluttershy motioned to her to come closer. Pinkie leaned in and Fluttershy whispered in her ear "She kind of scares me…"

"She scares you?" Pinkie said why yanking back in bewilderment "Why?"

"Well…" Then, Fluttershy spotted Derpy in between two buildings staring straight at her. Her cross eyes were glued right in her direction like a soulless demon. Not even blinking! Not even twitching! They stared at each other for a few moments; then, Derpy quietly walked away.

Fluttershy tried to get her mind of this event by saying "Hey, Pinkie, I have an idea… let's ask Twilight!"

"No!" said Pinkie grabbing Fluttershy. She looked to the right, then to the left, then right again, then left again; then, she leaned in closer to Fluttershy's face and quietly said "That's what they want us to do!"

"Um… who's they?" asked Fluttershy nervously.

"You know… they?" said Pinkie as if Fluttershy somehow should know. There was a pause. Fluttershy stared at her in confusion. Pinkie continued in a little more irritated tone, "They want us to talk to Twilight?"

"I'm sorry, Pinkie… I didn't mean to upset you…" said Fluttershy apologetically.

Pinkie let Fluttershy go, smiled and happily said "It's okay, Fluttershy!" Then, she struck a serious look on her face "But, remember this: If we make one slip up, then we could die… Forever!"

"Oh… okay… I promise, I won't make any more mistakes" said Fluttershy nodding her head in agreement, "So… where do we go next?"

"Well" said Pinkie raising the flashlight in the air in confidence, "That's the job of my Lucky Whachyamacallit" Pinkie turned the flashlight on and began walking forward. Fluttershy followed behind.

"Oh… this is going to be a very long day…" Fluttershy said to herself in annoyance.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Spike was walking home from a long day's evening. He was quite concerned about Twilight. Ever since he learned about what she did, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He thought he would find Twilight and talk to her some more about it. When he finally got home, he slowly opened the door and closed it behind him. The room was dead quiet, with the exception of the birds chirping outside. He looked around the room.<p>

"Twilight, are you in here?" he called. He looked around, "Where are you?"

Suddenly, he spotted her huddled in a corner. She looked terrible! She was shaking wildly and her mane was all messed up. There were books scattered all around her.

"Um… Twilight?" Spike said walking towards her.

"Oh! Spike! It's you!" Twilight said in relief. She stopped shivering and got up.

"What happened to you? You look like a wreck" said Spike noticing her condition.

"I'm just… hiding" Twilight said in a trusting tone, "I figured I'd stay in here until this whole thing blows over. Then, everything will be okay"

"Twilight, I'm worried about your mental health!" Spike said worryingly, "If you don't tell anybody, you could really lose it"

Twilight rushed up to Spike in panic and said, "You have no idea what Princess Celestia would do to me if she found out I was lying!"

"Breath, Twilight! Nobody's found out, yet!" said Spike trying to calm her down, "It will be a lot easier on you if you just tell everyone the truth"

"But, this whole town will turn against me!" said Twilight in a paranoid tone.

"You don't know that for sure" said Spike reassuring his friend, "They trust you"

This somehow didn't make Twilight feel any better. She knew that Spike was trying to ease her mind, but it wasn't helping any! She slowly slipped back into her corner and nervously started reading a book. Spike stared at her for a while. How much longer until she snapped?

"Would you rather tell somepony, or would you rather have everpony find out?" said Spike crossing his arms.

"I'm hoping that everypony would forget about the whole thing eventually" said Twilight turning the page nervously.

"Well, you'd better do something; because I heard Pinkie and Fluttershy are asking around about you" Spike said informatively.

Twilight dropped the book in shock! She could not believe what she just heard! She immediately ran towards the door in fear!

"I've got to find them, now!" Twilight said slamming the door behind her!

Spike looked at the pile of books in the corner.

"I guess I'll go ahead and clean this up" he said in annoyance.

He picked up some books and put them on the shelf. He then picked up a book titled "Law and Order in Equestria". He scratched his head in curiosity and started reading it. He turned the pages until he found a page he was looking for. He dragged his finger down the page until he found a sentence and read it out loud.

"Lying to a higher authority or a community is a high crime" he read, "Those found guilty are punished by…" he looked at the page in horror, "uh-oh… That's not gonna be good for Twilight. I gotta help her!" Spike tossed the book away and rushed out the door to find her!

* * *

><p><em>As Fluttershy and I continued our search for clues, we came to a pattern: all the clues were pointing to one mysterious pony who came out of nowhere. Whether or not this means anything remains to be seen. It's kind of hot out here. Maybe it's because of this sweater. I don't know why I'm wearing a sweater in spring time. Why am I wearing a sweater... hmmmmm…<em>

* * *

><p>Pinkie and Fluttershy were walking down the street. Pinkie had the flashlight out and was pointing it forward. Fluttershy kept her head to the ground wondering what Pinkie was going to get her into next.<p>

"Where are you taking us now, magic flashlight?" Pinkie said in wonder.

Fluttershy suddenly raised her head, as if she heard something in the distance. She looked back and said, "What was that? Is that you, Derpy?" she said in fear.

Pinkie stopped too to listen in. It was a faint voice from far away calling, "Pinkie! Fluttershy!"

"Who is that?" Fluttershy said nervously.

"Oh, that's just Twilight!" Pinkie said reassuringly.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy said in astonishment, "Oh no! We need to hide!" Fluttershy then dashed behind Pinkie in fear.

"Don't be so silly, Fluttershy! We don't need to hide from her!" Pinkie said trying to calm her down with a smile, "This could be the best thing to happen to us! We'll ask her questions directly! She'll tell us everything!"

"B-but you said that that's what they would be expecting us to do…" Flutterhy said mirroring Pinkie's earlier statement.

Pinkie looked at Fluttershy like she was from Mars!

"Who's they?" she asked in confusion.

"Umm…. They're expecting us to talk to Twilight?" Fluttershy said once again mirroring Pinkie's words.

"You're so silly, Fluttershy!" Pinkie said patting Fluttershy's head with a friendly smile.

"But… you…"

"Hey, Twilight! We're over here!" Pinkie called.

Twilight rushed over to Pinkie and Fluttershy frantically. She stopped as soon as she got close. She stood there panting out of fatigue.

"Pinkie, Fluttershy!" she panted, "I've been looking all over for you! Spike told me you were investigating my essay, is that true?"

"Yes, we are!" Pinkie said with a shining grin.

"Ooooo…" Twilight did not want to hear that! She sank into the grass with her hooves over her head in despair.

"Is something wrong, Twilight" Fluttershy said emerging from behind Pinkie and looking down at her.

"Please don't tell me you found anything…" said Twilight in despair.

"Well… no… not yet…" said Fluttershy whispered, "Not really…"

"You haven't?" Twilight said peering through her hooves showing signs of relief.

"Nope! But I know we're getting close to something!" Pinkie said excitedly, "Don't worry, Twilight, we'll find out who's framing you!"

Twilight lifted her head from her hooves and said, "Wait… you're… helping me?"

"Why of course, Twilight" said Fluttershy with a smile, "We're your friends and we always stick together…"

"Yeah! We'll show that mean old liar what happens when they mess with you!" said Pinkie punching the air.

Suddenly, Twilight's senses came back to her. She felt very relieved, even though it was true that she did lie. She knew Pinkie wasn't smart enough to piece the truth together and that Fluttershy was too shy to speak up about anything! She smiled and knew that maybe things weren't so bad after all!

"Everything points to that mysterious pony that appeared to us last night!" said Pinkie rubbing her chin in thought, "We know that she's a unicorn and we know that she hates Twilight"

"…or at least has something against her…" Fluttershy continued informatively.

"Right!" Pinkie said looking at Twilight, "So, Twilight, do you know anybody who hates you?"

"Umm…" Twilight said. She was quite curious herself. Applejack did mention a pony who told her that she lied about the essay. Perhaps it was the same pony who told her to lie about it in the first place! She began to piece the puzzle together. She realized she was set up! But… who on Equestria would want to make her do such a thing? "I don't really know anybody who hates me…" Twilight continued, "All the ponies in this town like me enough…"

"She's right… Nobody here wants to hurt Twilight…" Fluttershy said informatively.

Pinkie pounded her hoof and said, "Wait! Maybe the pony isn't from here!" she smiled at Fluttershy, "Good work, Fluttershy!" she looked back at Twilight, "Anything else?"

"Um… that's it…" said Twilight nervously.

"Hey! I know! Were you lying to us about the essay?" Pinkie said bluntly.

Twilight jerked back in fear and started to sweat! She didn't want to lie to her friends again! She remembered what Spike and Applejack said; but, she also remembered the penalties for lying! She then noticed the sweaters Pinkie and Fluttershy were wearing and decided to quickly change the subject.

"Hey, guys… why are you wearing sweaters?" she said with a fake smile hoping that they would go for it, "Isn't it a little warm for them?"

"Well… you see… Pinkie…" Fluttershy said quietly.

"You know! You're right!" Pinkie interrupted tugging on her clothes, "Why are we wearing these sweaters?"

"You… what… you mean… we can take them off?" said Fluttershy partially irritated.

"No! Wait! Something tells me we have to keep wearing them… we can't take them off… not yet…" Pinkie said in wonder.

Fluttershy sighed in disappointment and looked at the grass. She was burning up in the sweater. She really wanted to take it off, but, Pinkie insisted that she didn't.

"Well… alright…" said Fluttershy with a slight, shy smile "If you say so, Pinkie…" she lowered her voice in a whisper, "but… it is kind of hot in this sweater… sort of…"

Pinkie Pie then got into deep, deep thought, "Hot? Hot? Hot is symbolized as red… red is a color… color…" She started thinking. Then, she got excited all the sudden, "Wait a minute! I got it! Fluttershy! You're a genius!"

Pinkie dashed off.

"Wait! Where are you going, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie stopped and said, "We're gonna get some spray paint! Lots and lots of spray paint!"

Pinkie dashed off and Fluttershy nervously followed behind. Twilight watched the two as they dashed away. She chuckled to herself.

"If Pinkie's the one trying to figure everything out, then, I have nothing to worry about" she said in amusement, "I guess I really did get all worked up over nothing!" Twilight felt so much better and walked home to tell Spike about it. She felt very relieved.

* * *

><p>That night, all the ponies in Ponyville were tired from a long day and had turned in for a good night's rest… all but two. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were dragging bags of spray paint to the center of the town square. Fluttershy was completely exhausted.<p>

"Pinkie…" She panted, "Why did we buy all these cans of spray paint?"

"Becaaaaause!" Pinkie responded, "It's all a part of my plan to get that mysterious pony out of hiding!" she got out a can of spray paint and continued, "We're going to cover this town with graffiti! And when everypony wakes up the next morning, they're gonna see all of it and we're gonna say 'we won't clean this up until the mystery pony shows herself' and then she does! Mystery solved! Yay!" she clapped her hooves together in excitement.

"Um… I don't mean to criticize, Pinkie… but… that's a horrible idea…" Fluttershy said quietly, "We may not get it all cleaned up… and…" she toned down to a nervous whisper, "Everypony will be mad at us…"

"Nuh-uh!" Pinkie denied, "Everypony's gonna be happy that we found that no good cheating liar pony! Especially Twilight! She'll be so happy, that we'll be super best friends!"

"Well… I suppose… since it's the only way…" Fluttershy said nervously.

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie said excitedly, "Now grab a spray can and get to the painting!"

Without further argument, Fluttershy picked up a can of spray paint and started spray painting the town. Fluttershy felt very uncomfortable doing it; it felt very… shameful. However, Pinkie was very confident about this plan, so she continued. It took them all night to spray paint the town.

* * *

><p>When the sun was starting to rise up, the town was completely covered in spray paint. Pinkie Pie dropped the last can of spray paint with a sense of accomplishment. She looked at Fluttershy and smiled.<p>

Then, one by one, ponies started emerging from their homes and were horrified to see the entire town covered in graffiti. The mayor eventually emerged from her house with a horrified look on her face. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy walked up to her to greet her.

"Good morning, Miss Mayor!" Pinkie said, "It's it a beautiful morning?"

"Beautiful?" The mayor said, "Look around! There's graffiti everywhere!"

"Well" Pinkie said proudly, "That's because-"

"Whoever is responsible for this is in serious trouble!" the mayor interrupted in fury.

"Oh… trouble…" Pinkie said nervously, "Riiiiight…"

"You see, Miss Mayor" Fluttershy said, "We were the ones who-"

Pinkie slammed her hoof in Fluttershy's mouth before she could say anything else.

"Whoever is behind this is in big trouble." Pinkie whispered to Fluttershy hoping she would get the message.

"Oh…" Fluttershy said behind Pinkie's hoof.

"Absolutely no pony is doing anything else until this mess is cleaned up!" the mayor yelled in anger.

"Uh… sure! Right away!" said Pinkie.

Pinkie and Fluttershy walked away to get tell the other ponies about the mayors orders. Fluttershy looked at Pinkie in confusion.

"Um… Pinkie… why did you back off of your plan?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Er… well…" Pinkie responded, "I changed my mind. It was a terrible idea!"

"Oh… so now you agree with me…" Fluttershy quietly said to herself.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle got out of bed after a long night's sleep. She felt more relaxed now that she knew that Pinkie and Fluttershy were going to inevitably draw attention away from her. Suddenly, she smelled a very strong odor, like paint. This was quite odd, for she never had any paint around. The smell seemed to have come from outside.<p>

Twilight walked to the window and looked outside. She was shocked to see that the whole town was covered in graffiti! Twilight rushed downstairs and dashed out the door leaving it swinging wide open. She looked around and saw every pony in town was murmuring and confused as to what is going on. Twilight read the graffiti on the walls. They said things like "Show yourself!" "Tell us the truth!" "Liar liar!". Twilight knew what kind of message it was trying to tell her. A very uncomfortable feeling welled up inside her. Twilight knew that enough was enough! She had to tell someone the truth before something even worse happens, even if they hold against her.

Twilight walked around the town looking for her friends. She found them at Rarity's shop, repainting the walls. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and, of course, Rarity were there working on the building.

"I can't believe somepony has the nerve to do this!" Rarity complained angrily, "I had this whole place repainted last week! This is a nightmare!"

"Yeah! Whoever it was, it definitely was not me or Fluttershy!" Pinkie happily said, "We were at home asleep in our bed. Right, Fluttershy?"

"Oh… of course…" Fluttershy said nervously placing a can of paint on the table.

Twilight took a deep breath and slowly walked up to the girls. They spotted her and walked up to her happily.

"Hey, Twilight!" Rainbow said dashing up to her, "Where were ya? This whole town got a make-over!"

"Ah! Twilight!" Rarity said using her magic to brush away the red paint, "I'm so sorry that my house isn't very presentable."

"I see that…" Twilight said nervously.

"What's wrong, Twilight? Looks like you've got somethin' on your mind." Applejack said curiously.

"I know what it is!" said Pinkie hopping up to Twilight, "Don't worry! I'm sure that that pony will show up any time soon!"

Then, Twilight finally figured out what happened. Nonetheless, she still gathered every bit of courage about her and proceeded to tell her friends.

"Um… guys… about that essay…" Twilight said nervously.

"Sure, what about it?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Um… could we leave town first?" Twilight continued, "It's something I only want to tell you…"

"Sure, sugahcube, lead the way!" Applejack said with a smile.

Twilight led them out of the town.

* * *

><p>They went a safe distance away from Ponyville. They finally stopped at a secluded place where nobody could see them.<p>

"Okay, Twilight, what is it you wanted to talk about?" said Rainbow crossing her hooves.

"Um… well…" Twilight said stroking her hoof through her mane "It's about the essay that I wrote."

"Oh yeah! That!" said Pinkie with a hint of guilt in her voice, "I'm sorry, Twilight, our plan didn't work, but I have a good plan this time!" she spoke more confidently, "We'll get that no good friend framing pony for sure!"

"No, Pinkie…" said Twilight shaking her head, "You see… whoever that pony was… well…" she took a deep breath, "She was right. I did lie about the essay"

Everybody gasped at the sound of that. They were shocked to hear that Twilight really was lying to her.

"You mean… you really did lie to us!" Applejack said in shock, "Why?"

"Look, I didn't mean to lie to you!" said Twilight trying to defend herself from a potentially ugly situation, "You see, I had to write that essay by midnight. I had no idea what to write about. I had to write about a life-changing experience with death. The problem was I didn't really have a good experience with it. So, I took the closest thing I could think of and… well… make a few things up. I had no choice. I thought it was over as soon as I sent it, and, I didn't mean to lie to you about it. I'm sorry"

"So… you made most of it up?" said Applejack in a serious tone.

"Why don't you tell us what really happened at your great-grandparents funeral?" said Rainbow landing in front of Twilight.

"Okay. You want the truth? Here it is" said Twilight. She took another deep breath and continued, "I barely knew my great-grandparents. When I learned about their deaths, I was stressed out! I did not want to go to the other side of Equestria. But I did, because Celestia insisted that I go. So, I went all the way over there. Most of the people who attended I didn't know, so I couldn't care less. But, guess who they decided to do the eulogy: ME! That's right! I didn't what to do the dumb eulogy! But, I had to because 'I was a student of Princess Celestia'. So, I spent a sleepless night working on that thing AND researching my dead great-grandparents. The funeral wasn't any better! It was BORING! I practically fell asleep! And, when it came time to do the eulogy, I just skimmed through it and then left. I didn't even see them bury them. They could've thrown them in the ocean for all I know! And then I came all the way back to Ponyville without learning anything!" she lowered her head in shame, "There. Now you all know what really happened"

"Sooo… you didn't care about your great-grandparents?" said Rainbow with a stern look on her face.

"Well, I wouldn't say that, but… Hmmm… actually, yeah… I didn't care about my great-grandparents" said Twilight quietly.

"Twilight, why didn't you tell us sooner?" said Rarity with a very serious look on her face "We would have avoided so much trouble!"

"Like what?" said Twilight.

"Well, the town wouldn't be covered in graffiti for starters!" said Rarity informatively.

"Yes! And I will remind you all that it was totally not my fault!" said Pinkie hoping avoid any suspicions. She looked left and right frantically to see if anyone believed her.

"So…" Twilight said nervously, "Are you guys mad at me?"

"Yes, we're very mad at you! All of us!" said Applejack walking closer to her "Like Rarity said, you shoulda told us sooner!" Twilight looked away in shame. But, Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder and said in a calming tone, "But, you're our friend, and… well… even after all that's happened, we're still willing to forgive you, right gals?"

"Right!" everyone agreed happily.

"Just promise us that next time you do something like this, try telling us about it. We'll understand" said Applejack.

Twilight felt very relieved about hearing this from Applejack. She felt so much better now that she told the truth to her friends. She looked at them, gave them a reassured smile.

"Thanks, guys" she said reassuringly, "If I hadn't told, I would've probably gone nuts"

"Come on, girls!" said Rainbow fluttering above everybody, "We need to clean up the town! We can keep this secret between us; because, honestly…" she swooped in close to Twilight and whispered, "The other ponies would want your head on a silver platter if they found out about this"

Twilight smiled nervously. But, she was reassured that her friends would be there behind her. They all walked back to town happily.

* * *

><p>Twilight felt so much better, she felt like everything was going to be okay… until a police car rolled up in front of them. Two police ponies came out of the car and grabbed Twilight!<p>

"Alright, Miss Sparkle, you're coming with us!" said the police pony grabbing her mane.

"Ow!" Twilight yelled in pain "What did I do?"

"You have a right to remain silent!" said the police pony gripping harder on her mane and dragging her towards the car "With all the trouble you're in, I suggest you use that right!"

"Hey! What's going on?" said Rainbow flying over the other police pony.

"Alright, ladies, back up!" said the other police pony shoving the other girls away.

"Hey!" said Applejack pushing against the police pony trying to defend Twilght, "She didn't do nothin' wrong!"

"You're friend is charged with lying to a higher authority: The Royal Princess Celestia!" said the police pony.

"Wait, that essay was meant for the princess?" said Rarity, she cringed and said, "Ooooo… She's in deeper trouble than I thought…"

The police pony who held onto Twilight forced her two front hooves behind her back and put hoofcuffs on them. He then tried to force her into the car.

"Wait! You can't do this to me!" Twilight frantically begged.

"Shut up!" the police pony bashed her head on the side of the car and shoved her in.

Then, the other police pony came up to his partner and said "Wasn't that a little harsh? I mean… she is a lady!"

"You gotta be tough to be a police pony, rookie!" said other police pony sternly, "If you aren't, these criminals'll eat you alive!"

"But, I'm not a criminal!" Twilight said behind the glass trying to convince them that they're making a mistake.

"Hey! You will respect my authority!" said the police pony in an intimidating tone. Twilight cowered further back. The police pony told his partner "See? Gotta be stern. Gotta be tough. Now let's take 'er to the big house. She's got a lot of explaining to do!"

The two police ponies got in the car.

The one driving said to the other "Princess Celestia's gonna wanna hear about this"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Twilight screamed in terror.

The police car rode off. The other ponies watched as their friend rode off down the road.

"Wow… that sucks for Twilight…" Rainbow said landing next to Rarity. She felt sorry for Twilight.

"Oh, poor Twilight! She must be terrified!" said Rarity concerned over her friend's arrest.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it, 'cept wait for her sentence to be over" said Applejack.

Then, Spike came running up to them in a wild fit! He stopped in front of them and panted wildly.

"Hey! Have any of you guys seen Twilight?" he said panting in fatigue, "We need to hurry! She could be arrested and fined ten years in prison!"

They all looked at Spike with a frown. Spike feared the worst. Fluttershy walked up to him.

"I'm sorry, Spike, but, Twilight has already been arrested…" She said in a guilty tone.

"Oh… then… I guess I was too late" said Spike frowning and looking at the ground in dismay, "I told her to tell you guys sooner, but she didn't listen to me!"

"Well… maybe they'll go easy on her!" said Rainbow trying to cheer everybody up, "Who knows? Maybe they'll let her out early!"

"Come on, gals… let's go head back to town…" said Applejack trying to get the girls back to work.

All the ponies left for town except for Pinkie and Fluttershy. "Well, Fluttershy, I guess that's another mystery solved for the Hardy Ponies!" said Pinkie jumping up and down proud of her accomplishment.

"But… Pinkie… We didn't solve anything… Twilight's going to jail and we never found out who the mystery pony was…" said Fluttershy informatively.

"Or did we…" said Pinkie in a toned down voice. She looked off in the distance with a snide look on her face and an eerie smile.

"No… we didn't…" said Fluttershy correcting Pinkie.

"Oh… we didn't?" said Pinkie realizing what just happened, "Oh, that's right! We didn't! Oh well, there's always next time, right?"

Fluttershy didn't say anything. She just walked away to the town to join the others. Pinkie stood there for a moment, but then, hopped away after Fluttershy.

* * *

><p>Later on that day, Twilight was sent to court. The judge pony sat high above them. Twilight's lawyer sat down next to her. The jury was filled with ponies chatting to each other. Twilight buried her head in her hooves in despair hoping that the best would turn out. How could this happen to her? The lawyer pony leaned in.<p>

"Don't worry, Miss Sparkle, I'll get you out of this mess" The lawyer said whisperingly, "Now, tell me what you're in for"

"Lying to the princess" said Twilight raising her head from under her hooves.

"Wow! You can defend yourself. Later" The lawyer pony got up and left the court. Twilight rested her head on the table in humiliation. Just when she thought everything was going well, it all fell apart on her! The judge banged her gavel on her desk.

"Order! Order in the court!" the judge pony shouted in an authorative tone. The jury fell silent.

The judge then cleared her throat started to speak in a professional tone, "Twilight Sparkle you have been accused of lying to the royal Princess Celestia and an entire community and murdering over 30 ponies in one afternoon!"

"WHAT?" said Twilight in shock.

"However, your charges for murder have been lifted because we found that the real culprit was Derpy!" said the judge.

"DEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRP!" Derpy yelled from across the court.

"Derpy, you will sit down, be quiet, and wait until your court case begins! Do I make myself clear?" said the judge in a scorning tone.

"Derp?" Derpy said sitting down in confusion.

"Thank you" said the judge, "The court now calls forth the defendant to the stand!"

Twilight slowly went up to the stand and sat on the seat. The attorney came up to her. He rested his hoof on the counter in front of her.

"Miss Twilight Sparkle, is it true that you flat out lied to the princess?" said the attorney in a professional tone.

"Yes… it's true" Twilight said lowering her head in guilt.

"I see… And is it true that you lied to the entire community in which you reside in?" said the attorney.

"Yes…" said Twilight looking up with a frown.

"Then, your honor, it is very clear that this pony has admitted to not only lie to the princess, but to an entire community!" said the attorney.

"Yes… indeed…" the judge agreed, she turned to Twilight and continued, "Miss Sparkle, do you have anything to say to the court?"

"Um… I'm sorry?" Twilight said nervously.

"You're sorry?" the judge said in a disgusted tone, "I've heard that one a million times. The jury will now proceed to judge"

A pony in the jury stood up, cleared his throat, and read a piece of paper out loud: "We the jury find Twilight Sparkle guilty of lying to royalty and an entire community!"

"Then, I find Twilight Sparkle guilty!" said the judge slamming her gavel to the desk. Twilight gulped. The judge continued, "I herby sentence Twilight Sparkle to serve ten years in prison. Case dismissed!" she banged her gavel on the desk one more time, "Bailiff, escort Miss Sparkle out of the court"

"Yes, your honor!" said the Bailiff pony. He grabbed Twilight by the tail and dragged her out of the court room, where she was sent to prison.

* * *

><p>The next day, Twilight was behind bars in the Equestria prison. Spike stood outside visiting her.<p>

"I told you, you should have told them" said Spike hanging onto the bars, "Then, you probably wouldn't be in this mess!"

"I know, Spike" Twilight said sadly, "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you"

"Well, it's a little too late for that…" said Spike.

"So… how is everypony? Are they… still mad at me?" said Twilight. She was worried that her return to Ponyville wasn't going to be a very pleasant one.

"Well, all your friends are really looking forward for you getting out" Spike said assuringly, "Pinkie keeps saying that she's gonna throw a huge welcome back party for you when your sentence is over" then he frowned and continued, "But, we keep telling her that it's going to be a small party"

Twilight was glad that her friends still trusted her. She looked forward to getting out and seeing them again.

"What about all the other ponies?" Twilight asked in curiosity, "Are they mad at me?"

"Well, Twilight" Spike said with a sigh, "There's your friends… and then there's… everypony else…"

"So… in other words…" Twilight said nervously.

"They freakin' hate you…" Spike said bluntly.

Twilight put her head against the bars in dismay. She did not want to hear that. She knew that it was not going to be easy to rebuild her reputation in Ponyville.

"My permanent record is ruined…" she complained despairingly.

"Hey! On the bright side, the word probably hasn't reached the princess yet!" Spike said trying to bring hope back to Twilight, "Maybe you can write a letter to her and I can send it!"

"You're right, Spike" said Twilight lifting her head filled with new hope, "Maybe it'll soften the blow" Spike got out a quill and paper and began writing what Twilight was saying.

"Dear Princess Celestia" Twilight said as Spike wrote it down, "the essay that I brought you was partially a lie. I lied about most of the things on there. I thought I was only lying to you, but it turns out all the ponies in Ponyville heard me. So I lied to them, too. I was under so much pressure to do it that I had no choice. I almost lost my sanity keeping it to myself and the whole town somehow got burned down as a result! I learned that it is wrong to lie no matter what. It's even worse to lie to your friends! Sometimes, it's best to tell them the truth because they could help you through it. I wish I could have learned that a little sooner, because now I'm stuck in jail for the next ten years! I hope that this doesn't change my affiliation with you. Your faithful (and hopefully still) student, Twilight Sparkle"

Spike then, sent the letter to the princess in a green flame. The letter breezed out the nearest window. Mere seconds later, Spike tensed up and belched out a response. He opened it up and read it.

"Well, what does it say?" said Twilight anxiously.

Spike looked at Twilight with a face filled with bad news, slipped the letter through the bars, and said, "Well… why don't you read it?"

He handed over the letter to Twilight. It read: "XD"

Twilight crumbled up the letter with her magic and tossed it at the wall in annoyance.

"Great, now she thinks I'm nuts!" she said.

Then, a police pony came and said "Alright, kid, visiting time's over. Let's go!" The police grabbed Spike by the arm escorted him out.

"Don't worry, Twilight! It's only ten years! You'll be out in no time!" Spike said while leaving trying to reassure Twilight. His voice echoed down the hallway.

"Suuuure…" Twilight said to herself despairingly. She lied down on the cold stone floor. She was completely humiliated that she was in prison for ten years. Then, she thought of the pony that appeared in her house and told her to lie about it.

"That pony!" she said in anger, "When I find out who she is…"

Suddenly, she spotted a blue unicorn pony with a lighter blue mane. The blue pony stared at her with a curious look on her face. Then, the pony started to crack a smile and then she started laughing at Twilight. At first, it was a small mild laughter and then it grew to a louder one.

The blue pony laughed hysterically at the sight of Twilight's humiliation! Then, Twilight realized who it was all along that told her to lie about the essay and told all her friends about it. She stared at the laughing pony in horror.

"That clever magician!" Twilight said to herself.

The

End?


End file.
